Information providing apparatus for vehicle

ABSTRACT

An information providing apparatus for a vehicle includes in-vehicle devices, a communication network connected to each of the in-vehicle devices, a storage portion in which a signal change pattern based on the condition of each of the in-vehicle devices is stored in associated state for each situation around the vehicle, a situation determining portion that determines the situation around the vehicle based on the signal change of at least one in-vehicle device and the stored signal change pattern, an information acquiring portion that acquires information on the condition of the in-vehicle device related to the determined situation around the vehicle, an information generating portion that generates notification information on a recommended operation based on the information on the condition of the related in-vehicle device, and an information presenting portion that presents the notification information on the recommended operation.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is based on Japanese Patent Application (No.2015-125306) filed on Jun. 23, 2015 and Japanese Patent Application (No.2015-128341) filed on Jun. 26, 2015, the contents of which areincorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to an information providing apparatus fora vehicle.

2. Description of the Related Art

Conventionally, of notifying apparatuses provided in vehicles, anapparatus is available that assists the driver with the drivingoperation by notifying the driver of the vehicle of various pieces ofinformation. For example, an apparatus is available that, when thedriver forgot to return the direction indicator lever, alerts him/her tothe forgetting of returning the direction indicator lever (for example,see JP-A-2013-86553).

In this case, the notifying apparatus described in JP-A-2013-86553provides an alert with attention only to what is directly related to theoperation of the direction indicator lever itself.

However, the notifying apparatus described in JP-A-2013-86553 cannotpresent to the driver of the vehicle information on a recommendedoperation suitable for the situation around the vehicle.

Moreover, an information providing apparatus for a vehicle that providesvarious pieces of information to a passenger of the vehicle hasconventionally been known. While the information providing apparatus fora vehicle provides information by request from a passenger, in recentyears, a method has been known where from a viewpoint of convenience,even when there is no request from a passenger, a scene requiringinformation provision is determined on the apparatus side andinformation is automatically provided.

For example, JP-A-2009-145270 discloses a navigation apparatus that,when predetermined additional information is displayed on the displayscreen for navigation, causes a partial display area of the displayscreen to blink. According to this apparatus, the driver easily noticesthat the additional information is displayed.

For example, in JP-A-2010-76602, an in-vehicle device control apparatusthat controls in-vehicle devices is disclosed. In this apparatus, when amessage to ask whether to perform control of an in-vehicle device or notis read out, the passenger's action of vertically shaking his/her headwhile looking in a predetermined direction is detected as an affirmativereaction or the passenger's action of shaking his/her head from side toside while looking in a predetermined direction, as a negative reaction.When the affirmative reaction is detected, a control signal to performthe control related to the message is sent to the in-vehicle device.

However, even if an information provision scene is determined and theinformation is automatically provided, there are cases where thepassenger side is not ready to receive the information. For this reason,there is a possibility that the information provision is felt to beannoying or felt to be meddling.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is made in view of such circumstances, and anobject of the present invention is to provide an information providingapparatus for a vehicle capable of presenting to the driver of a vehicleinformation on a recommended operation suitable for the situation aroundthe vehicle.

Moreover, another object of the present invention is to provide aninformation providing apparatus for a vehicle capable of providinginformation easy for a passenger to receive.

An information providing apparatus according to the present invention isan information providing apparatus provided in the vehicle and providinginformation to a driver driving the vehicle, the information providingapparatus comprising: a plurality of in-vehicle devices; a communicationnetwork connected to each of the plurality of in-vehicle devices; astorage portion that stores a signal change pattern based on a conditionof each of the plurality of in-vehicle devices in associated state foreach previously conceived situation around the vehicle; a situationdetermining portion that determines the situation around the vehiclebased on a signal change in at least one in-vehicle device of theplurality of in-vehicle devices and the signal change pattern stored inthe storage portion; an information acquiring portion that acquires,through the communication network, information on a condition of, of theplurality of in-vehicle devices, the in-vehicle device related to thesituation around the vehicle determined by the situation determiningportion; an information generating portion that generates notificationinformation on a recommended operation recommended to the driver basedon the information on the condition of the related in-vehicle deviceacquired by the information acquiring portion; and an informationpresenting portion that presents to the driver the notificationinformation on the recommended operation generated by the informationgenerating portion.

According to the information providing apparatus according to thepresent invention, since the information on the recommended operation isgenerated based on the situation around the vehicle and the condition ofthe in-vehicle device, information on the recommended operation suitablefor the situation around the vehicle can be presented to the driver ofthe vehicle.

Moreover, in the information providing apparatus according to thepresent invention, for example, the condition of the related in-vehicledevice is either recommended condition or non-recommended conditioncorresponding to the situation around the vehicle, and when thecondition of the related in-vehicle device is the non-recommendedcondition, the information generating portion generates the notificationinformation on the recommended operation.

According to this notifying apparatus, since it can be determinedwhether the condition of the in-vehicle device corresponding to thesituation around the vehicle is the recommended condition or thenon-recommended condition, notification information suitable for thesituation around the vehicle can be generated.

Moreover, in the information providing apparatus according to thepresent invention, for example, when the signal change of at least onein-vehicle device of the plurality of in-vehicle devices and the signalchange pattern coincide with each other, the situation determiningportion selects, of the previously conceived situations around thevehicle, the situation around the vehicle corresponding to thecoinciding signal change pattern as the determined situation around thevehicle.

According to this information providing apparatus, since the signalchange of the in-vehicle device, the signal change pattern of thein-vehicle device and the situation around the vehicle can be associatedwith one another, the driver's current condition in the vehicle can bepresumed.

According to the present invention, since the information on therecommended operation is generated based on the situation around thevehicle and the condition of the in-vehicle device, an informationproviding device can be provided that is capable of presenting to thedriver of the vehicle the information on the recommended operationsuitable for the situation around the vehicle.

Moreover, to solve the above-mentioned another problem, the presentinvention provides an information providing apparatus for a vehiclehaving: a situation determining portion that determines a currenttraveling situation based on a vehicle signal transmitted and receivedin the vehicle and a behavior model obtained by previously modeling apattern of the vehicle signal for each traveling situation; a passengercondition determining portion that performs guiding control promoting apassenger's awareness by working on the passenger's sense and determinesthe passenger's condition in response to the guiding control; and adialogue control portion that provides information to the passengerbased on the current traveling situation determined by the situationdetermining portion and the passenger's condition determined by thepassenger condition determining portion.

Here, in the present invention, for example, the dialogue controlportion provides information to the passenger when it is determined thatthe passenger has become ready to receive information in a situationwhere the information should be provided.

Moreover, in the present invention, for example, the dialogue controlportion determines a passenger's intention based on the passenger'sresponse to the information provided to the passenger and outputs anoperation command to operate a function mounted on the vehicle based onthe determined passenger's intention.

Moreover, in the present invention, for example, the passenger conditiondetermining portion recognizes at least one of a passenger's voice and adirection of the passenger's visual line and determines the passenger'scondition in response to the guiding control based on a result of therecognition.

According to the present invention, by previously promoting thepassenger's awareness, the readiness for the passenger to receiveinformation can be created. And since information is provided to thepassenger having become ready to receive it, the passenger does notreadily feel that it is annoying or meddling, so that informationprovision easy for the passenger to receive can be performed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a view showing a schematic structure of an informationproviding apparatus according to a first embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a view showing an example of the conditions of in-vehicledevices according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a view showing an example of the signal change patternaccording to the first embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart explaining a control example of the informationproviding apparatus according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a view showing an example of the signal change patternaccording to a second embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing the structure of an informationproviding apparatus for a vehicle according to a third embodiment.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory view showing a meter unit.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing the operation procedure of the informationproviding apparatus for a vehicle of the third embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram schematically showing the operation of theinformation providing apparatus for a vehicle.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS First Embodiment

FIG. 1 is a view showing a schematic structure of an informationproviding apparatus according to a first embodiment. As shown in FIG. 1,an electronic apparatus 1 includes the information providing apparatus,and is provided in a vehicle. The electronic apparatus 1 is providedwith a plurality of in-vehicle devices 3, a storage portion 11, asituation determining portion 13, an information acquiring portion 15,an information generating portion 17 and an information presentingportion 19. Of these, the storage portion 11, the situation determiningportion 13, the information acquiring portion 15, the informationgenerating portion 17 and the information presenting portion 19constitute the information providing apparatus.

The information providing apparatus is provided in a vehicle, andprovides (notifies) information to the driver driving the vehicle. Theplurality of in-vehicle devices 3, the storage portion 11, the situationdetermining portion 13, the information acquiring portion 15, theinformation generating portion 17 and the information presenting portion19 are capable of transmitting and receiving various signals through acommunication network 5. The communication network 5 is an in-vehiclenetwork connected to each of the plurality of in-vehicle devices 3 andto the information providing apparatus, and communication conforming,for example, to a CAN protocol is performed.

By the performance of communication conforming to the CAN protocol, thesignals of the plurality of in-vehicle devices 3 are transferred throughthe communication network 5.

Here, the plurality of in-vehicle devices 3 each include an in-vehiclefunction to perform a certain operation. Moreover, of the plurality ofin-vehicle devices 3, in-vehicle devices 3 of specific groups includein-vehicle functions related to specific matters.

Specifically, the vehicle is provided with a steering system ECU, a bodysystem ECU, a safety system ECU and the like. For example, the steeringsystem ECU controls steering, that is, a device related to steerage, andcontrols an electric steering device and the like. Therefore, in thecase of, of the plurality of in-vehicle devices 3, devices related tosteering, a control device such as the steering system ECU and a drivingdevice such as the electric steering device are the correspondingin-vehicle devices 3.

Moreover, the body system ECU controls devices related to the body, thatis, the vehicle body, and controls the power window, the power seat, theinstrument panel, the light and the like. Therefore, in the case of, ofthe plurality of in-vehicle devices 3, devices related to the vehiclebody, a control device such as the body system ECU, driving devices suchas the power window and the power sheet, a display device such as theinstrument panel and a lighting device such as the light are thecorresponding in-vehicle devices 3.

Moreover, the safety system ECU controls devices that protect passengerson the vehicle including the driver, and controls the parking assist,the air bag, the seat belt, the back guide monitor and the like.Therefore, in the case of, of the plurality of in-vehicle devices 3,devices related to the protection of the passengers on the vehicle, acontrol device such as the safety system ECU, an integrated system suchas the parking assist, protective equipment such as the air bag and theseat belt and the parking assist device such as the back guide monitorare the corresponding in-vehicle devices 3.

In the storage portion 11, a signal change pattern based on thecondition of each of the plurality of in-vehicle devices 3 is stored inassociated state for each previously conceived situation around thevehicle. Specifically, in the storage portion 11, change patterns of thesignals of the in-vehicle devices 3 generated based on general drivers'operation patterns or the like are stored for each situation around thevehicle. The storage portion 11 stores such signal change patterns foreach situation around the vehicle as a behavior model database.

Moreover, it is assumed that more than one situation around the vehicleis stored in the storage portion 11. The situations around the vehicleinclude mainly situations related to the external environment of thevehicle and situations related to operations of the vehicle. A situationrelated to the external environment of the vehicle is, for example,rainy weather. Moreover, a situation related to operations of thevehicle is, for example, the parking operation.

While the storage portion 11 may be formed of a semiconductor memory, itmay be formed of an HDD. Moreover, the storage portion 11 may beincorporated in the information providing apparatus, or may bedetachably insertable in the information providing apparatus.

The situation determining portion 13 presumes the situation around thevehicle based on the signal change of at least one in-vehicle device 3of the plurality of in-vehicle devices 3 and the signal change patternstored in the storage portion 11. Specifically, when the signal changeof at least one in-vehicle device 3 of the plurality of in-vehicledevices 3 and the signal change pattern coincide with each other, of thepreviously conceived situations around the vehicle, the situation aroundthe vehicle corresponding to the coinciding signal change pattern isselected as the presumed situation around the vehicle.

The information acquiring portion 15 acquires, through the communicationnetwork 5, the information on the condition of, of the plurality ofin-vehicle devices 3, the in-vehicle device 3 related to the situationaround the vehicle presumed by the situation determining portion 13.Here, the condition of the in-vehicle device 3 related to the situationaround the vehicle presumed by the situation determining portion 13 iseither recommended condition or non-recommended condition as thecondition corresponding to the situation around the vehicle.

The information generating portion 17 generates notification informationon the recommended operation recommended to the driver based on theinformation on the condition of the in-vehicle device 3 related to thesituation around the vehicle presumed by the situation determiningportion 13 which information is acquired by the information acquiringportion 15. Specifically, the information generating portion 17generates notification information on the recommended operation when thecondition of the in-vehicle device 3 related to the situation around thevehicle presumed by the situation determining portion 13 isnon-recommended condition.

The information presenting portion 19 presents to the driver thenotification information on the recommended operation generated by theinformation generating portion 17. When the information presentingportion 19 presents the notification information to the driver, thenotifying means is not specifically limited. For example, when thevehicle is provided with a speaker, the information presenting portion19 may notify the notification information by voice. Moreover, when thevehicle is provided with a display, the information presenting portion19 may notify the notification information by image. In this case, theimage may include character information or in the image, thecorresponding part of the vehicle may be highlighted.

Next, the contents included in the signals transferred through thecommunication network 5 will be described by using FIG. 2. FIG. 2 is aview showing an example of the conditions of the in-vehicle devices 3according to the first embodiment. As shown in FIG. 2, as the conditionsof the in-vehicle devices 3, the engine condition, the speed, the shiftcondition, the door open/closed condition, the seat belt condition, thewindow open/closed condition, the wiper condition, the perimetermonitoring system condition and the like are presumed. Information onsuch conditions of the in-vehicle devices 3 can be obtained through thecommunication network 5.

The engine condition includes, for example, information related to thevehicle stopped condition, startup condition, normal driving conditionand the like of the engine. The speed includes information related tothe speed of the vehicle. The shift condition includes informationrelated to the position of the shift lever, and in the case of an ATvehicle, is information indicating which of the P range, the R range,the N range, the D range and the like the range is, the time for whichthe range is held, the shift order of the shift change to each range andthe like.

The door open/closed condition includes information related to whetherthe door is open or not. The seat belt condition includes informationrelated to whether the seat belt is fastened or not. The windowopen/closed condition includes information related to whether the windowis open or not. The wiper condition includes information related to theduration time of the wiper operation, the frequency of the wiperoperation and the like. The perimeter monitoring system conditionincludes information related to whether the perimeter monitoring systemis running or not. Here, the perimeter monitoring system reduces thedriver's blind spot, for example, by providing the driver withinformation taken by a non-illustrated in-vehicle camera.

Next, a case where the situation around the vehicle is rainy weatherwill be described by using FIG. 3. FIG. 3 is a view showing an exampleof the signal change patterns according to the first embodiment. As aprecondition for the operation of the example of FIG. 3, in the storageportion 11, a change pattern of the signal indicating the wipercondition, that is, a wiper operation pattern is associated with rainyweather as a situation around the vehicle. Moreover, in the storageportion 11, the wiper condition and the window condition are associatedwith rainy weather as a situation around the vehicle.

As shown in FIG. 3, to the situation determining portion 13, informationon the wiper condition is inputted. The situation determining portion 13determines whether or not the change of the signal based on the inputtedinformation on the wiper condition coincides with the wiper operationpattern at the time of rainy weather existing in the storage portion 11.

Specifically, the situation determining portion 13 determines whetherthe wiper ON time is not less than three seconds or not. Further, thesituation determining portion 13 determines whether the number of timesthe wiper is turned on is not less than five times per minute or not.When the signal change coincides with the wiper operation pattern at thetime of rainy weather existing in the storage portion 11 as a result ofthese determinations, the situation determining portion 13 presumes thesituation around the vehicle to be rainy weather.

The reason why it is determined whether the wiper ON time is not lessthan three seconds or not is in order to make a distinction from thetime of use of the wiper or the like. Moreover, the reason why it isdetermined whether the number of times the wiper is turned on is notless than five times per minute or not is in order to, since some usersfrequently perform the wiper operation by hand, make a distinction fromsuch an operation.

The information acquiring portion 15 acquires through the communicationnetwork 5 a signal indicating the condition of the window as thecondition of the in-vehicle device 3 related to the situation around thevehicle, that is, the situation of rainy weather. In this case, theinformation acquiring portion 15 acquires the window open/closedcondition.

The information generating portion 17 generates notification informationon the recommended operation recommended to the window based on thewindow open/closed condition. Specifically, when the situation aroundthe vehicle is rainy weather and the window open/closed condition is theopen condition, the information generating portion 17 generates amessage to encourage window closing. The information presenting portion19 presents to the driver the message to encourage window closinggenerated by the information generating portion 17. On the other hand,when the situation around the vehicle is rainy weather and the windowopen/closed condition is the closed condition, the informationgenerating portion 17 may generate a message to continue the windowclosed condition with no change.

When the situation around the vehicle is rainy weather, the recommendedcondition of the window is a condition where the window is closed, andthe non-recommended condition of the window is a condition where thewindow is open.

Next, the operation of the information providing apparatus will bedescribed by using FIG. 4. FIG. 4 is a flowchart explaining a controlexample of the information providing apparatus according to the firstembodiment.

At the situation determining portion 13, the situation around thevehicle is presumed based on the signal change of at least onein-vehicle device 3 of the plurality of in-vehicle devices 3 and thesignal change pattern stored in the storage portion 11 (step S11). Then,at the information acquiring portion 15, information on the condition ofthe in-vehicle device 3 related to the situation around the vehicle isobtained (step S12). Then, at the information generating portion 17, itis determined whether the acquired information indicates thenon-recommended condition or not (step S13). When the acquiredinformation indicates the non-recommended condition (YES at step S13),at the information generating portion 17, notification information onthe recommended operation recommended to the in-vehicle device 3 isgenerated (step S14), and at the information presenting portion 19, thenotification information on the recommended operation is presented tothe driver (step S15). On the other hand, when the acquired informationdoes not indicate the non-recommended condition, that is, when theacquired information is the recommended condition (NO at step S13), thenotification information on the recommended operation is presented tothe driver. When the acquired information does not indicate thenon-recommended condition, that is, the acquired information is therecommended condition, it may be performed to provide no notification tothe driver. In this case, the process ends without proceeding to stepS15 subsequently to NO at step S13.

From the above description, according to the information providingapparatus according to the first embodiment, when the situation aroundthe vehicle is rainy weather, the recommended operation of, of theplurality of in-vehicle devices 3, the in-vehicle device 3 related tothe time of rainy weather can be presented. Thereby, the informationproviding apparatus can reduce the driver's careless mistake, so thatforgetting to use the function of the in-vehicle device 3 related to thetime of rainy weather can be prevented. Moreover, since the informationproviding apparatus does not require a detection result of a sensor thatdetects the time of rainy weather such as a raindrop sensor, the time ofrainy weather can be presumed at low cost.

Second Embodiment

In a second embodiment, since the functions of the storage portion 11,the situation determining portion 13, the information acquiring portion15, the information generating portion 17, the information presentingportion 19 and the communication network 5 are similar to those of thefirst embodiment, descriptions thereof are omitted. What the secondembodiment is different from the first embodiment is that the situationaround the vehicle is the driving operation. Therefore, the case wherethe situation around the vehicle is the driving operation will bedescribed by using FIG. 5.

FIG. 5 is a view showing an example of the signal change patternaccording to the second embodiment. As a precondition for the operationof the example of FIG. 5, in the storage portion 11, change patterns ofthe signal indicating the shift lever condition, that is, shift changepatterns are associated with the parking operation as a situation aroundthe vehicle. Moreover, in the storage portion 11, the condition of theshift lever and the perimeter monitoring system condition are associatedwith the parking operation as a situation around the vehicle.

As shown in FIG. 3, to the situation determining portion 13, informationon the condition of the shift lever, that is, information on the shiftcondition is inputted. The situation determining portion 13 determineswhether or not the signal change based on the inputted information onthe shift condition coincides with the shift change pattern at the timeof parking existing in the storage portion 11.

Specifically, the situation determining portion 13 determines whetherthe condition where the shift lever is in the R range is held for notless than three seconds or not. Further, the situation determiningportion 13 determines whether the change pattern of the shift lever ischanged in the order of the D range, the N range and the R range or not.When the signal change coincides with the shift change pattern at thetime of parking existing in the storage portion 11 as a result of thesedeterminations, the situation determining portion 13 determines that thesituation around the vehicle is parking.

Whether the condition where the shift lever is in the R range is heldfor not less than three seconds or not is determined in order todistinguish whether the condition is such that the input of the R rangebetween the P range and the D range is canceled or not. Moreover,whether the change pattern of the shift lever is changed in the order ofthe D range, the N range and the R range or not is determined in orderto, since the operation from the P range to the R range at the time ofparking is very rare, make a distinction from such an operation.

The information acquiring portion 15 acquires through the communicationnetwork 5 a signal indicating the situation around the vehicle, that is,information on the condition of the in-vehicle device 3 related toparking, specifically, the perimeter monitoring system condition. Inthis case, the information acquiring portion 15 acquires the perimetermonitoring system condition.

The information generating portion 17 generates notification informationon the recommended operation recommended to the perimeter monitoringsystem based on the perimeter monitoring system condition. Specifically,when the situation around the vehicle is parking and the perimetermonitoring system condition is off, the information generating portion17 generates a message to encourage system startup. The informationpresenting portion 19 presents to the driver the message to encouragesystem startup generated by the information generating portion 17. Onthe other hand, when the situation around the vehicle is parking and theperimeter monitoring system condition is on, the information generatingportion 17 may generates a message to maintain system startup.

From the above description, according to the information providingapparatus according to the second embodiment, when the situation aroundthe vehicle is parking, the recommended operation of, of the pluralityof in-vehicle devices 3, the in-vehicle device 3 related to the time ofparking can be presented. Thereby, the information providing apparatuscan perform assist of the driver's operation, so that forgetting to usethe function of the in-vehicle device 3 related to the time of parkingcan be prevented.

In this way, according to the information providing apparatus accordingto the first and second embodiments, the plurality of in-vehicle devices3 are grouped based on the situations around the vehicle. That is, theinformation providing apparatus selects the in-vehicle device 3 toperform the operation corresponding to the situation around the vehicle,and performs notification considering the overall operation of theselected in-vehicle device 3.

In other words, since the condition of each of the plurality ofin-vehicle devices 3 is associated with a situation around the vehicle,the information providing apparatus can presume the driver's currentcondition in the vehicle based on the situation around the vehicle andthe condition of the in-vehicle device 3 and present the informationsuitable for the result of the presumption to the driver, so that theinformation on the recommended operation suitable for the situationaround the vehicle can be presented to the driver.

By doing this, the information providing apparatus can provide necessaryinformation to the driver according to the situation. This enables theinformation providing apparatus to make the driver avoid the situationpresumed to occur because the driver does not know the necessaryinformation. Therefore, the information providing apparatus can presentinformation so that the driver does not suffer from disadvantages.

Moreover, the condition of the in-vehicle device 3 related to thesituation around the vehicle presumed by the situation determiningportion 13 is, as the condition corresponding to the situation aroundthe vehicle, either the recommended condition recommended to thein-vehicle device 3 or the non-recommended condition not recommended tothe in-vehicle device 3. Therefore, the information providing apparatuscan presume which of the recommended condition and the non-recommendedcondition the condition of the in-vehicle device 3 is with respect tothe situation around the vehicle, so that notification information canbe generated according to the situation around the vehicle.

By doing this, the information providing apparatus can generateappropriate notification information according to the situation, so thatinformation suitable for the situation can be presented to the driver.

Moreover, the information providing apparatus determines whether thesignal change of at least one in-vehicle device 3 of the plurality ofin-vehicle devices 3 and the signal change pattern coincide with eachother or not. Here, the change pattern of the signal indicating thecondition of the in-vehicle device 3 is associated with each situationaround the vehicle. Therefore, the information providing apparatus canassociate the change of the signal indicating the condition of thein-vehicle device 3, the change pattern of the signal indicating thecondition of the in-vehicle device 3 and the situation around thevehicle with one another, so that the in-vehicle device 3 related to thesituation around the vehicle can be searched for with reference to thesituation around the vehicle.

By doing this, the information providing apparatus can determine thecondition of the in-vehicle device 3 based on the change pattern of thesignal indicating the condition of the in-vehicle device 3, so that itis unnecessary to provide a dedicated sensor for each of the pluralityof in-vehicle devices 3. That is, the information providing apparatuscan determine the condition of the in-vehicle device 3 without theprovision of dedicated sensors. Consequently, the information providingapparatus can be realized at low cost.

From the above description, according to the information providingapparatus according to the first and second embodiments, the informationproviding apparatus is an information providing apparatus provided in avehicle and providing notification to a driver driving the vehicle, andis provided with: the communication network 5 connected to each of theplurality of in-vehicle devices 3; the storage portion 11 in which thesignal change pattern based on the condition of each of the plurality ofin-vehicle devices 3 is stored in associated state for each previouslyconceived situation around the vehicle; the situation determiningportion 13 that presumes the situation around the vehicle based on thesignal change of at least one in-vehicle device 3 of the plurality ofin-vehicle devices 13 and the signal change pattern stored in thestorage portion 11; the information acquiring portion 15 that acquires,through the communication network 5, information on the condition of, ofthe plurality of in-vehicle devices 13, the in-vehicle device 13 relatedto the situation around the vehicle presumed by the situationdetermining portion 13; the information generating portion 17 thatgenerates the notification information on the recommended operationrecommended to the driver based on the information on the condition ofthe related in-vehicle device acquired by the information acquiringportion 15; and the information presenting portion 19 that presents tothe driver the notification information on the recommended operationgenerated by the information generating portion 17.

Therefore, the information providing apparatus generates information onthe recommended operation based on the situation around the vehicle andthe condition of the in-vehicle device 3, so that the information on therecommended operation suitable for the situation around the vehicle canbe presented to the driver of the vehicle.

Moreover, in the information providing apparatus according to the firstand second embodiments, the condition of the related in-vehicle device 3is either the recommended condition or the non-recommended condition asthe condition corresponding to the situation around the vehicle, andwhen the condition of the related in-vehicle device 3 is thenon-recommended condition, the information generating portion 17generates the notification information on the recommended operation.

Therefore, the information providing apparatus can determine which ofthe recommended condition and the non-recommended condition thecondition of the in-vehicle device 3 corresponding to the situationaround the vehicle is, so that notification information suitable for thesituation around the vehicle can be generated.

Moreover, in the information providing apparatus according to the firstand second embodiments, when the signal change of at least onein-vehicle device 3 of the plurality of in-vehicle devices 3 and thesignal change pattern coincide with each other, the situationdetermining portion 13 selects, of the previously conceived situationsaround the vehicle, the situation around the vehicle corresponding tothe coinciding signal change pattern as the presumed situation aroundthe vehicle.

Therefore, the information providing apparatus can associate the signalchange of the in-vehicle device 3, the signal change pattern of thein-vehicle device 3 and the situation around the vehicle with oneanother, so that the driver's current condition in the vehicle can bepresumed.

While the present invention is described above based on the first andsecond embodiments, the present invention is not limited to theabove-described first and second embodiments, and may be modifiedwithout departing from the gist of the present invention.

For example, while a case where the situation around the vehicle iseither rainy weather or parking is described in the first and secondembodiments, the present invention is not limited thereto; the situationaround the vehicle may be the time of vehicle startup. In this case, forexample, if the condition of an in-vehicle device 3 is related to theengine condition and the condition of another in-vehicle device 3 isrelated to the seat belt condition, based on the engine condition, theinformation providing apparatus can determine that the situation aroundthe vehicle is the time of vehicle startup and determine the seat beltcondition as the condition related to the time of vehicle startup. Inthis case, if the seat belt condition is the non-fastened condition, theinformation providing apparatus provides a notification that the seatbelt should be fastened as the recommended operation.

Moreover, while a case where the situation around the vehicle is eitherrainy weather or parking is described in the first and secondembodiments, the present invention is not limited thereto; the situationaround the vehicle may be the time when the vehicle is stopped. In thiscase, for example, if the condition of an in-vehicle device 3 is relatedto the engine condition and the condition of another in-vehicle device 3is related to the door open/closed condition, based on the enginecondition, the information providing apparatus can determine that thesituation around the vehicle is the vehicle stopped time and determinethe door open/closed condition as the condition related to the vehiclestopped condition. In this case, if the door open/closed condition isthe open condition, the information providing apparatus provides anotification that the door should be closed as the recommendedoperation.

Moreover, while an operation with an AT vehicle as the premise isdescribed in the second embodiment, the present invention is not limitedthereto; the vehicle may be an MT vehicle. In this case, shift changepatterns of the MT vehicle are stored in the storage portion 11 and adetermination based on the shift lever operation conforming to the MTvehicle is performed.

While an example in which the determination of the condition of onein-vehicle device 3 is made based on only one condition is described inthe first and second embodiments, the present invention is not limitedthereto; the condition of one in-vehicle device 3 may be determinedbased on a plurality of conditions.

Third Embodiment

FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing the structure of an informationproviding apparatus 101 for a vehicle according to a third embodiment.The information providing apparatus 101 for a vehicle according to thepresent embodiment is an apparatus that provides information to thepassengers (typically, the driver) of the vehicle and providespredetermined services.

The information providing apparatus 101 for a vehicle is mainly providedwith a control portion 110, a storage portion 111, a communication IF112, a microphone 113, a camera 114, a speaker 115, a display 116, anLED 117 and a switch 118.

The control portion 110 controls the entire information providingapparatus 101 for a vehicle, and a microcomputer formed mainly of a CPU,a ROM, a RAM and an I/O interface may be used. The CPU performs variouscontrols according to a control program. The ROM stores programs thatthe CPU executes or data necessary for executing the programs. The RAMis the work area when the CPU executes the programs.

The storage portion 111 is formed of a storage device such as a harddisk device, and in the storage portion 111, a behavior model database111 a is stored. Moreover, in the storage portion 111, various kinds ofdata necessary for the information providing apparatus 101 for a vehicleto provide information are stored.

The behavior model database 111 a is a database where later-describedvehicle signal patterns and traveling situations are associated witheach other, and vehicle signal patterns corresponding to varioustraveling situations are stored. The behavior model database 111 a iscreated by statistically processing vehicle signal patternscorresponding to patterns of driving operations performed by typicaldrivers for each of the various traveling situations, and is previouslycreated through tests and simulations. In other words, the behaviormodel database 111 a corresponds to behavior models obtained bypreviously modeling vehicle signal patterns for each travelingsituation.

The communication IF 112 is an interface for performing communicationbetween the control portion 110 and various control devices (ECUs:Electric Control Units) 120 and the like on the vehicle side, andconforms, for example, to the CAN (Control Area Network) standard.Through the communication IF 112, vehicle signals related to the vehicleconditions transmitted and received in the vehicle such as the travelingspeed, the steering angle, the brake and the blinker are inputted to thecontrol portion 110 from the vehicle side. Moreover, through thecommunication IF 112, a vehicle signal related to the vehicle positionpossessed by the navigation ECU (for example, information on expresswaysand general roads and information on the up lane and the down lane) areinputted to the control portion 110 from the vehicle side.

The microphone 113 is disposed in the vicinity of the driver's seat, andthe voice uttered by the driver is inputted thereto. The voice inputtedto the microphone 113 is outputted as a voice signal and inputted to thecontrol portion 110.

The camera 114 is disposed in front of the driver's seat (for example,the instrument panel), takes an image of a predetermined area includingthe driver's face, and outputs the taken image. The image outputted fromthe camera 114 undergoes A/D conversion and image processing, and isinputted to the control portion 110 as image data.

The speaker 115 is controlled by the control portion 110, and outputspredetermined voice messages and sounds.

The display 116 is a display device controlled by the control portion110 and displaying images, texts and graphics corresponding topredetermined information. As the display 116, for example, an LCD or aTFT may be used. In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 7, thedisplay 116 is realized by a display for a meter disposed together withvarious measuring instruments in a meter unit 130.

The LED 117 is display means controlled by the control portion 110 andperforming the turning on and off of the light. As shown in FIG. 7, theLED 117 is disposed more than one in number around the display 116.

The switch 118 is for inputting an operation signal responsive to thedriver's operation to the control portion 110 and is formed, forexample, of a steering switch provided on the steering handle.

In the present embodiment, the microphone 113, the camera 114, thespeaker 115, the display 116, the LED 117 and the switch 118 correspondto a device that performs communication between the driver and thecontrol portion 110 (communication device). That is, by using themicrophone 113, the camera 114 and the switch 118, the driver'scondition can be grasped, and by using the speaker 115, the display 116and the LED 117, information can be sent to the driver.

As a feature of the present embodiment, the control portion 110 performsthe function of providing information to the driver, and when a scenerequiring information provision is determined in response to thedriver's request or irrespective of the driver's request, informationcan be provided to the driver. For the information provision to thedriver, the scene is determined by the control portion 110, and theinformation is created. Methods of information provision to the driverinclude output of a voice message using the speaker 115 and displayoutput using the display 116.

When this is interpreted functionally, the control portion 110 has asituation determining portion 110 a, a passenger condition determiningportion 110 b and a dialogue control portion 110 c.

The situation determining portion 110 a determines the current travelingsituation based on the vehicle signal obtained through the communicationIF 112 and the behavior model database 111 a. The current travelingsituation determined by the situation determining portion 110 a isoutputted to the passenger condition determining portion 110 b.

The passenger condition determining portion 110 b performs guidingcontrol promoting the driver's awareness by working on the driver'ssenses (the visual sense, the auditory sense). In other words, thisguiding control corresponds to control to, for the information provisionautomatically performed by the information providing apparatus 101 for avehicle, promote the readiness to receive this. The passenger conditiondetermining portion 110 b performs the guiding control by outputting avoice message or a sound from the speaker 115 or turning on the LED 117.

Then, the passenger condition determining portion 110 b determines thedriver's condition (reaction) in response to this guiding control. Thedriver's condition is determined by recognition of the driver's voice,recognition of the driver's visual line or the like.

(Voice Recognition)

The passenger condition determining portion 110 b processes the voicesignal inputted from the microphone 113 and recognizes the voice utteredby the driver. Then, the passenger condition determining portion 110 bdetermines the driver's condition based on the recognized voice. Forexample, when the driver utters no voice even though the guiding controlis performed, it is determined that the driver is making no response tothe guiding control. On the other hand, when the driver utters a certainvoice in response to the guiding control, it is determined that thedriver responded to the guiding control.

(Visual Line Recognition)

The passenger condition determining portion 110 b processes the imagedata inputted from the camera 114 and recognizes the direction of thedriver's visual line. Then, the passenger condition determining portion110 b determines the driver's condition based on the recognizeddirection of the visual line. For example, when the driver remainslooking at the outside of the vehicle even though the guiding control isperformed, it is determined that the driver is making no response to theguiding control. On the other hand, when the driver turns his/her eyesto the inside of the vehicle (for example, the meter unit 130 or thespeaker 115) in response to the guiding control, it is determined thatthe driver responded to the guiding control.

The driver's condition may be determined by an input operation on theswitch 118. For example, when the driver does not operate the switch 118even though the guiding control is performed, it is determined that thedriver is making no response to the guiding control. On the other hand,when the driver operated the switch 118 in response to the guidingcontrol, it is determined that the driver responded to the guidingcontrol.

The dialogue control portion 110 c provides information to the driverbased on the current traveling situation determined by the situationdetermining portion 110 a and the driver's condition determined by thepassenger condition determining portion 110 b. Specifically, thedialogue control portion 110 c determines the scene where informationshould be provided from the current traveling situation, and determineswhether the driver is ready to receive information or not from thedriver's condition. Thereby, the dialogue control portion 110 c canprovide information to the driver in the scene where the informationshould be provided and when the driver becomes ready to receive theinformation.

Moreover, the dialogue control portion 110 c confirms the driver'sintention based on the driver's response to the information provided tothe driver. Then, the dialogue control portion 110 c outputs anoperation command to operate the control device 120 (function mounted onthe vehicle) based on the confirmed intention.

Hereinafter, the information providing operation by the informationproviding apparatus 101 for a vehicle according to the presentembodiment will be described. Here, FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing theoperation procedure of the information providing apparatus 101 for avehicle of the present embodiment. Moreover, FIG. 9 is a block diagramconceptually showing the operation of the information providingapparatus 101 for a vehicle.

First, at step S110, the control portion 110 searches the behavior modeldatabase 111 a based on the pattern of the vehicle signal obtainedthrough the communication IF 112, and determines the current travelingsituation (the processing (A) of FIG. 9). For example, it is determinedthat the current traveling situation is that “the vehicle is travelingon an expressway and the speed is stable” based on the pattern of thevehicle signal related to the speed (for example, 97 km/h for fiveminutes) and the pattern of the vehicle signal related to the vehicleposition (for example, the up lane of the expressway) (the processingresult (B) of FIG. 9).

When the traveling situation is determined at step S110, at step S111,the control portion 110 outputs a control command to the speaker 115 orthe LED 117 (the processing (C) of FIG. 9). Accompanying this controlcommand, a sound (including a voice message) is outputted from thespeaker 115, the LED 117 is turned on, or both of these are performed(guiding control). By working on the driver's auditory and visual sensesby using sound or light, prior to information provision, the driver'sawareness, that is, the driver's readiness to receive information can bepromoted (the processing (D) of FIG. 9). At this stage, since thepromotion of the driver's awareness is the purpose, it is preferablethat the sound or the light is of the degree that does not make thedriver feel botheration or the like. For example, the sound or the lightat the time of the guiding control is weaker in quantity than the soundor the light at the time of the information provision.

At step S112, the control portion 110 determines the driver's conditionin response to the guiding control, that is, whether the driver hasnoticed the sound or the light or not. Whether the driver has noticedthe sound or the light or not is determined from the intentionindication based on the driver's utterance or the driver's visual line(the processing (E) of FIG. 9). The control portion 110 determineswhether the driver has noticed the sound or the light or not byprocessing the voice signal inputted through the microphone 113 andrecognizing the driver's voice (the processing (F) of FIG. 9).Alternatively, the control portion 110 determines whether the driver hasnoticed the sound or the light or not by processing the image outputtedfrom the camera 114 and recognizing that the direction of the driver'svisual line becomes a predetermined direction (the processing (F) ofFIG. 9). The control portion 110 may determine whether the driver hasnoticed the sound or the light or not on the condition that an operationinput was made on the switch 118.

When the driver has noticed the sound or the light (the processing (G)of FIG. 9), affirmative determination is made at step S112, and theprocess proceeds to step S115 described later. On the other hand, whenthe driver has not noticed the sound or the light, negativedetermination is made at step S112, and the process proceeds to stepS113.

At step S113, the control portion 110 again output the control commandto the speaker 115 or the LED 117 (the processing (c) of FIG. 9).Accompanying this control command, a sound (including a voice message)is outputted from the speaker 115, the LED 117 is turned on, or both ofthese are performed (second guiding control). Since this step S113 issecond guiding control, it is preferable that the mode of output of thesound or the light is performed by a mode different from that of theguiding control executed at step S112. For example, the sound volume ofthe speaker 115 is increased, or the LED 117 is blinked.

At step S114, as at S112, the control portion 110 determines whether thedriver has noticed the sound or the light or not (the processings (E),(F) of FIG. 9). When the driver has noticed the sound or the light (theprocessing (G) of FIG. 9), affirmative determination is made at stepS114, and the process proceeds to step S115. On the other hand, when thedriver has not noticed the sound or the light, negative determination ismade at step S114, and the process returns to step S113.

At step S115, since the driver is ready to receive information, thecontrol portion 110 controls the speaker 115 or the display 116 toprovide predetermined information. For example, the control portion 110provides “constant speed traveling” proposing information (theprocessing (H) of FIG. 9).

At step S116, the control portion 110 receives the driver's response tothe provided information, and confirms the driver's intention (theprocessing (I) of FIG. 9). The confirmation of the driver's intentioncan be performed by recognizing the driver's utterance, by detecting aninput operation on the switch 118, by recognizing the direction of thedriver's visual line or the like.

At step S117, when assent (the driver's intention) to the providedinformation is confirmed, the control portion 110 outputs apredetermined operation command to the control device 120 (theprocessing (J) of FIG. 9). For example, an operation command to performconstant speed driving is outputted to the control device 120 takingcharge of engine control.

As described above, in the present embodiment, the information providingapparatus 101 for a vehicle has: the situation determining portion 110 athat determines the current traveling situation based on the vehiclesignal transmitted and received in the vehicle and the behavior model(the behavior model database 111 a) obtained by previously modeling thepattern of the vehicle signal for each traveling situation; thepassenger condition determining portion 110 b that performs guidingcontrol promoting the driver's awareness by working on the driver'ssense and determines the driver's condition in response to the guidingcontrol; and the dialogue control portion 110 c that providesinformation to the driver based on the current traveling situationdetermined by the situation determining portion 110 a and the driver'scondition determined by the passenger condition determining portion 110b.

Here, the dialogue control portion 110 c provides information to thedriver when it is determined that the driver has become ready (prepared)to receive information in a scene where the information should beprovided.

According to this structure, by previously promoting the driver'sawareness, the readiness for the driver to receive information can becreated. And since information is provided to the driver having becomeready therefor, the driver does not feel that it is annoying ormeddling, so that information provision easy for the driver to receivecan be performed. Moreover, since information provision is performedwith the driver's condition being grasped, the load on the driving taskcan be reduced.

Moreover, by creating the readiness for the driver to receiveinformation, the driver himself/herself behaves so as to obtaininformation, so that the driver's feeling that information is forced canbe suppressed.

Moreover, in the present embodiment, the dialogue control portion 110 cdetermines the driver's intention based on the driver's response to theinformation provided to the driver and outputs an operation command tooperate a function mounted on the vehicle based on the determineddriver's intention.

According to this structure, information suitable for the currenttraveling situation and the driver's condition can be provided. Thereby,the function mounted on the vehicle can be effectively utilized.

Moreover, in the present embodiment, the passenger condition determiningportion 110 b recognizes at least one of the driver's voice and thedirection of the driver's visual line and determines the driver'scondition in response to the guiding control based on the result of therecognition.

According to this structure, the driver's condition can be determined bya simple method. For this reason, it is unnecessary to mount anexpensive sensor or device in order to determine the condition, so thatinformation provision can be performed without an increase in cost.

The information provided by the information providing apparatus 101 fora vehicle includes information that is high in urgency. Therefore, thecontrol portion 110 may determine whether the provided information ishigh in urgency or not. In this case, the following may be performed:For information that is high in urgency, the guiding control asdescribed above is not performed and the information is provided at itsprovision timing; on the other hand, for information that is not high inurgency, the information is provided on condition that the driver hasbecome ready to accept the information as described above.

While the information providing apparatus for a vehicle according to thefirst to third embodiments of the present invention is described above,the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments,but various modifications are possible without departing from the scopeof the invention.

What is claimed is:
 1. An information providing apparatus for a vehicleprovided in the vehicle and providing notification to a driver drivingthe vehicle, the information providing apparatus comprising: a pluralityof in-vehicle devices; a communication network connected to each of theplurality of in-vehicle devices; a storage portion that stores a signalchange pattern based on a condition of each of the plurality ofin-vehicle devices in associated state for each previously conceivedsituation around the vehicle; a situation determining portion thatdetermines the situation around the vehicle based on a signal change inat least one in-vehicle device of the plurality of in-vehicle devicesand the signal change pattern stored in the storage portion; aninformation acquiring portion that acquires, through the communicationnetwork, information on a condition of, of the plurality of in-vehicledevices, the in-vehicle device related to the situation around thevehicle determined by the situation determining portion; an informationgenerating portion that generates notification information on arecommended operation recommended to the driver based on the informationon the condition of the related in-vehicle device acquired by theinformation acquiring portion; and an information presenting portionthat presents to the driver the notification information on therecommended operation generated by the information generating portion.2. The information providing device according to claim 1, wherein thecondition of the related in-vehicle device is either recommendedcondition or non-recommended condition corresponding to the situationaround the vehicle; and wherein when the condition of the relatedin-vehicle device is the non-recommended condition, the informationgenerating portion generates the notification information on therecommended operation.
 3. The information providing device according toclaim 1, wherein when the signal change of at least one in-vehicledevice of the plurality of in-vehicle devices and the signal changepattern coincide with each other, the situation determining portionselects, of the previously conceived situations around the vehicle, thesituation around the vehicle corresponding to the coinciding signalchange pattern as the determined situation around the vehicle.
 4. Aninformation providing apparatus for a vehicle comprising: a situationdetermining portion that determines a current traveling situation basedon a vehicle signal transmitted and received in the vehicle and abehavior model obtained by previously modeling a pattern of the vehiclesignal for each traveling situation; a passenger condition determiningportion that performs guiding control promoting a passenger's awarenessby working on the passenger's sense and determines a passenger'scondition in response to the guiding control; and a dialogue controlportion that provides information to the passenger based on the currenttraveling situation determined by the situation determining portion andthe passenger's condition determined by the passenger conditiondetermining portion.
 5. The information providing apparatus according toclaim 4, wherein the dialogue control portion provides information tothe passenger when it is determined that the passenger has become readyto receive information in a situation where the information should beprovided.
 6. The information providing apparatus according to claim 4,wherein the dialogue control portion determines a passenger's intentionbased on the passenger's response to the information provided to thepassenger and outputs an operation command to operate a function mountedon the vehicle based on the determined passenger's intention.
 7. Theinformation providing apparatus for a vehicle according to claim 4,wherein the passenger condition determining portion recognizes at leastone of a passenger's voice and a direction of the passenger's visualline and determines the passenger's condition in response to the guidingcontrol based on a result of the recognition.